No Excuse Work Out

No Excuse Workout: Using Already in the Home Equipment & Just Your Body Weight

When to use it: Having no access to equipment shouldn't prevent you from getting into shape. A body-weight-only program does have a few drawbacks--mainly, it's hard to manipulate your intensity by increasing the weight load on the muscles. But this program can be perfect for you if you're a beginner trying to break into the habit of training before getting some equipment or a gym membership.

25 Minute Workout – Beat your kids out of bed by 25 minutes and you can get a good resistance work out in.

Perform as a circuit doing each exercise one time and then a second time. If you have time to do a third time then take it away.

Exercise/ Reps
1. Body Weight Squat / 20
2. Forward Lunge / 15
3. Step Up / 15
4. Inverted Push up / 10
5. Push Up / 10
6. Close Grip Push Up / 5
7. Lying Torso Raise / 15
8. Crunch / 25

1. BODY-WEIGHT SQUAT (legs) Put your hands on your hips or hold them straight out in front of you. From a standing position, feet about shoulder-width apart, squat down until both knees reach 90 degrees. As you lower yourself, keep your lower back slightly arched, head up, and stick your glutes (buns) out as if you were going to sit in a chair. Weight should be on your hills. Be sure that your knees aren't out past your toes as you descend--if they are, you're not moving your glutes back far enough (weight is not on your heals) on the descent. Once you reach the bottom position, flex through your quads (front of the leg), hamstrings (back of the leg) and glutes to power yourself back up to a standing position and repeat. (To make this easier do this exercise into a chair and as soon as you touch the seat ascend back up keeping balance -- not resting in the chair.) Continue until you have completed 20 squats.

2. FORWARD LUNGE (legs) With your hands on your hips, assume a comfortable stance, feet shoulder-width apart, head up and torso erect. From there, step with your right leg straight forward, as deep as you can go without moving your left foot. Plant your right foot and bend your right knee to 90 degrees. Then, flexing the muscles of your thigh, push yourself back up to a standing position and repeat the movement with your left leg. Alternate right & left leg in this fashion until you've completed 15 reps per leg.

3. STEP UP (legs) Start with your right leg, step up onto a chair and back off, rotate and step up with your left leg onto the chair and back off. To avoid injury, make sure as you are stepping up the majority of your foot is landing on the chair not just your toe. Continue alternating legs until you have completed 15 reps per leg.

4. INVERTED PUSH-UP (shoulders) Place your feet on a chair and your hands out in front of you at shoulder-width. Without moving your feet, creep your hands backward until your body is bent almost 90 degrees and your head is facing the floor. Press up until your arms are straight--you should resemble an inverted V-- then slowly lower your head toward the floor until your arms are almost bent 90 degrees. Walk your hands back out and repeat. Complete 10 reps.

5. PUSH-UP (chest) Place your hands a little wider than your shoulders, put your toes on the floor (or knees on the floor for beginners), feet and legs together, hips in line with your back and raise up into an arms-extended position. Slowly lower yourself until your chest just touches the floor, return to the starting position and repeat. As you lower yourself, concentrate on feeling the stretch in your chest, and flex on the way up rather than using a quick piston action to finish your set. Continue for 10 repetitions.

6. CLOSE-GRIP PUSH-UP (triceps) Do these the same as you do the regular push-ups, except bring your hands closer so that your thumbs and index fingers form a triangle beneath your chest (or as close as you can get them to perform exercise). As you descend, your elbows will point outward; once your chest comes in light contact with your hands, slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Continue for 5 repetitions.

7. LYING TORSO RAISE (lower back) Lie facedown on the floor and place your hands loosely behind your neck. Slowly raise your upper body until your chest is a few inches off the floor. You should feel your lumbar spine and lower-back muscles contracting as you rise up. Hold the top position for a two-second count, slowly return to the starting position and repeat. Continue for 15 repetitions.

8. CRUNCH (abs) Lie face up, your knees bent and feet on the floor. Keep your hands behind your head -- avoid the temptation to pull on your head as you tire. Curl your torso as you bring your shoulder blades up a few inches, squeeze your abs, and then slowly return to the starting position. To keep the pressure on, don't spend more than a second in the "down" position; the longer your shoulder blades are off the floor, the more work your abs must do. Continue slowly for 25 repetitions.

“Men's Fitness, Jan, 2003 by Michael Berg / Tara’s few changes and additions.”

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